1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in or relating to a reactor adapted to carry out a chemical reaction, in the presence of a granular catalyst, under conditions such that both the reactants and the reaction product are gaseous throughout the reaction, and to a reaction method using such a reactor. More specifically, the present invention relates to an improvement in a reactor of the type wherein a gas is caused to flow in radial directions through a catalyst bed packed in an annular, intercylinder space defined by two cylinders having different diameters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reactors of the type wherein a gas is caused to flow in radial directions through an intercylinder catalyst bed, which bed is formed by packing a granular catalyst in an annular intercylinder space defined by two cylinders having different diameters, have been described in a number of publications. These prior proposals, however, do not deal to a sufficient extent with the problem of the temperature distribution in the catalyst bed in the direction of the flow of the gas. Thus, they have not succeeded in achieving a reduction of the size of a reactor of the above type, without also causing a lowering of its performance.
An improved reactor of the foregoing type and a method of using same are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 149640/1980 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,234. The foregoing patents are directed to a method for controlling the temperatures at various points along the gas flow path in an intercylinder catalyst bed, namely, a catalyst bed interposed between two gas-permeable cylindrical catalyst retainers having different diameters. Desired temperatures are achieved by arranging a number of vertically extending cooling tubes on a group of circles, which circles are concentric with the common central axis of the two catalyst retainers, and causing a feed gas to flow in radial directions through the intercylinder catalyst bed so that the feed gas undergoes a catalytic reaction to produce a product gas, while causing a cooling fluid to pass through the cooling tubes to transfer the resultant exothermic reaction heat to the cooling fluid.